Keep The Name – Mercelina Park

(8-18-17) The name of the park district on Lakeshore Drive should continue to be referred to as ‘Mercelina Park’. The park is a big part of the Celina heritage and history of the site. Even though over the years it has changed in many different ways its an important part of what makes Celina, Celina.

The name represents not just Celina but an entire county that is one of the best in Ohio and offers strong family values, that include hard work to make things the best they can be.

For those of us who call Celina or Mercer County home its something we have all been proud of over the many years. Mr. Bryson wouldn’t be offended, he most likely would have endorsed and agreed, after all he left the estate to provide recreational opportunities for the children and the families of Celina and Mercer County.

Over one hundred years ago in early July of 1910, our predecessors showed the value of what Mercelina Park brought to the community, it was a great time to be from Celina. The stories below come from The Celina Democrat from the Library of Congress’ digitized historic newspaper site.

The fair was then revived in 1868 with “The First Annual Mercer County Fair.” From then on the local Fair took off and grew in popularity. The fairs were all held on the grounds bordering the lake (Mercelina Park).